Lady Gaga Releases Powerful Video Highlighting Sexual Assault

For her latest project, songstress Lady Gaga has released a public-service music video about university campus sexual assault, to accompany a song for campus rape documentary The Hunting Ground. The song, Til It Happens to You, was co-written by Lady Gaga and songwriter Diane Warren and is dedicated to survivors of sexual assault around the world. The video is powerful and makes for extremely tough viewing, but it highlights an issue that must be continually talked about if it is to be stopped. The video notes that, in America, 1 in 5 female students will be assaulted on campus this coming year. Some statistics estimate that a staggering 16-20% of American female students alone are victims of sexual assault. Recently, we reported that there was a 30% increase in calls to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, which is an equally alarming figure. From speaking publicly about this issue, figures such as Gaga and Oxford student Lone Wells are fighting to reduce the stigma that victims of rape endure.

“We hope u feel our love & solidarity through the song & perhaps find some peace in knowing u r not alone through this film,” Gaga wrote on Twitter. The singer also said that a portion of proceeds from the song will be donated to organisations working with survivors of rape and sexual assault. This isn’t the first time the singer has got behind this issue. Earlier this year, Gaga – who has previously spoken publicly about being sexually assaulted at the age of 19 – joined a similar campaign to tackle sexual assault on university campuses in New York.

The video features scenes of sexual assaults on a university campus, as well as scenes depicting three female students as they come to terms with surviving the assaults. Catherine Hardwicke (of Twilight and upcoming Miss You Already) directed the clip.

The video is below and contains graphic, disturbing content but is a difficult, yet necessary watch.